The Kingfisher oil project in Uganda operated by a Chinese company has resulted in numerous human rights violations, including forced evictions, inadequate compensation, threats, violence and loss of livelihoods, a new report says. Climate Rights International (CRI), a U.S.-based nonprofit, published the report on Sept. 2. “Our findings substantiate that this project is not for the benefit of the people living in the area or for the country,” Brad Adams, CRI executive director, said in a press briefing. “It’s actually harming the environment, harming the climate and harming the human rights of people in Uganda and particularly in the Kingfisher area.” For the report, CRI interviewed 98 people living in and around the Kingfisher oil project area located on the southeastern shore of Lake Albert. The oil project is operated by the Chinese National Offshore Oil Company Uganda Ltd. (CNOOC) and jointly owned by CNOOC, TotalEnergies EP Uganda and the Uganda National Oil Company. Many residents near Lake Albert depend on fishing for their livelihoods. However, ever since the arrival of CNOOC and the Ugandan military, fishers told CRI that the military regularly seizes and burns boats and beats and arrests fishers. Several fishers and two whistleblowers involved in the Kingfisher oil drilling activities told CRI that oil drilling, which began in January 2023, has led to oil dumping in the lake and a drastic decline in fish. The land acquisition process has also been rife with coercion and intimidation, and compensation is either nonexistent or inadequate, residents told CRI.…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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